Yes, that's why I didn't want to rip and tear everything out the first year. Unfortunately, the previous owner of my home allowed a lot of very invasive things to grow like the Japanese Honeysuckle and tree of heaven. There is also pokeweed, which is native to the Southern US but is a nightmare plant that the Spotted Lantern Flies (another invasive killing trees) absolutely love so I have to dig those out.

My previous post made it sound like I am removing everything that isn't hyper local, but I don't have the time or energy for that. Would just settle for the aggressive things to finally die.

iNaturalist, as far as I know it is free or at least I have the free version and haven't been limited in the number of IDs I can request. They also have a feature where the IDs can be verified by other users to get more specific than the automated photo identification. And let me tell you, there are some plant/bug nerds that browse the app!

I wish this would happen to me, it seems like every time I look away the seeds of some invasive vine are taking root in my yard. I've tried planting natives, but for me at least they have taken some work to cultivate and maintain despite trying to find natives that are appropriate for my soil and sun situation. I'm hoping every year the natives will be able to strengthen and outcompete the invasives, but for now I am stuck digging up roots and tearing down whatever non natives I find.

I've spent the past few summers desperately trying to claw my lawn back from invasives. When we first bought our house I didn't want to remove anything until after a year to see what everything was, because I knew nothing about plants. I planted some natives in bare locations, but didn't realize just how crazy some of the vines and invasive species would be in claiming space.

I have an app on my phone for identifying plants. A few years ago, every ID said invasive from Asia or Europe. I cannot tell you how satisfying it is to see some native grasses and wildflowers finally taking hold in the areas that used to be Japanese Honeysuckle or pokeweed. But it was backbreaking, miserable work and I commend anyone who is fighting this fight.

Time helps. I am not a teacher, but I coach.

I feel like I wanted to be loved by my athletes or completely ignored by them when I started coaching. I didn't want anyone to dislike or doubt my abilities in any way. I went above and beyond to plan practices and be as legitimate as possible as a young coach close (enough) in age to the athletes. I needed firmly establish that I was an authority in the field and worth taking advice from.

I'll be honest, some of my interactions with athletes during covid broke me. We went remote when facilities and the world shut down. Which meant trying to run fitness classes over zoom for whoever still wanted them. When we returned to in person practice, the athletes just came back cynical and critical (the entire world was just proven to be a shit show, so I understand where they are coming from). I felt like I had to justify my strategy every few weeks, of they did not see immediate results, they just questioned the value in coming to practice.

It took time to build up a reputation with my athletes again. All i could do was continue to do the best job possible and trust my knowledge. We just celebrated having our first Olympian alumni, so things are going well! But not everyone has that same successful result, and want to blame someone for that. Some people will always think they are the smartest person in the room, and you can't change their way of thinking.

For those 5% of negative reviews, the best case scenario is that you did the best possible job you could. And in a few years, they self reflect and think about how critical they were of you when it really wasn't anything. Worst case scenario, they tell the story of their instructor, who was in some way incompetent, and everyone just smiles, nods, and gets on with their lives. The otherwise overwhelmingly positive reviews show us that you are preparing your students for whatever the next step is. Some students might not see the value of your work immediately, or 2 years down the road, or ever. Just because they can not see the value in your work does not mean the value was not their.

Playing Call of Duty World at War for the first time, if that counts as retro. I had always played co-op games with my brother, and when he was gone for a weekend, I decided to try and play for myself. Spent countless hours replaying missions until I finally beat the campaign. And if I remember correctly, it drops you straight into zombies with no warning. I remember it being way past my bedtime, sitting alone in the dark. I was absolutely terrified because I was genuinely shocked by the premise and maybe too young for something so scary. Didn't sleep at all that night.

They could have crafted a serviceable plot out of what the games provided....if they cared. It would never be The Last of Us, but the bar is set so low for things now. I would be perfectly fine with well written movies with B list actors. But that's the problem with these movies, no one cares enough, and all the money gets poured into getting recognizable actors to play parts that they aren't suited for.

If they had recast those two, I would have been absolutely hopeless for the MCU going forward. Perfect casting. The Netflix show was top-notch. Now I'm going to go rewatch it again.

Wanted to dive this site so badly when I was in the area in 2022. It seems so other worldly to have such a beautiful space submerged under the water.

Exactly, we've had so many companion "chosen ones" or "special girls". I love the sentiment that every single person is important. A person's origin doesn't have to lead to a season long story arc.

Walton Goggins is killing it. Cooper Howard is definitely my favorite character so far to see his pre-bombs dropping persona vs the smartass ghoul he has become. I really like the exploration of the division that was spreading amongst everyone in the flashbacks.

As far as adaptation, I am pretty happy. I think they are threading the needle relatively well with lore so that someone who hasn't played the games can pick things up quickly and enjoy(?) the fucked up world of the wasteland.

Favorite quote so far "Thou shalt get sidetracked by bullshit, every damn time."

My family watched the movie Clue about a million times. Can quote every line by heart. To this day, we only have to look in one another's eyes whenever a quotable opportunity comes up. "Are you trying to make me look stupid in front of the other guests?" "You don't need any help from me."